A portable apparatus and an electronic apparatus such as a portable telephone and a portable terminal apparatus include a plurality of key switches and a key operating unit for operating the key switches. The key operation unit is provided with symbol display representative of numbers, characters, etc., assigned to each of the key switches and function display representative of various functions, and an illuminating configuration is used that includes light-emitting elements within a housing to apply light from the inside of the housing such that display contents thereof become recognizable in a dark place to become possible to operate the key operating unit corresponding to the desired key switch.
For such an illuminating configuration, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-174866 discloses that a translucent resin key top on the surface of a base sheet and an illumination light source on the rear face of the base sheet are included to form a striped face having heaped stripes in a floodlight area of the illumination light source on the base sheet and that the illuminative property of the resin key top is enhanced since the light transmitting through the base sheet is reflected by the heaped stripes of the striped face and turned back to the inside of the base sheet (Abstract and FIG. 1, etc.).
For example, as depicted in FIG. 1, an illuminating configuration of a key operating unit is arranged with a plurality of key domes 602 housing key switches on the upper surface of a circuit substrate 600 such as a key flexible substrate and is disposed with light-emitting elements 604 between the key domes 602. The upper surface of the circuit substrate 600 is disposed with a keypad 606 covering the key domes 602 and the light-emitting elements 604, and light-transmitting units 608 and light-shielding units 610 are formed on the keypad 606. The symbol display and the function display on the key dome 602 are added to the light-transmitting units 608.
Such an illuminating structure applies direct light 612 of the light-emitting elements 604 from the upper surface of the circuit substrate 600 to the back surface of the keypad 606. Therefore, if an apparatus employing such illuminating structure is miniaturized and the light-emitting elements 604 come closer to the keypad 606, no diffusion is caused in the light emitted from the light-emitting elements 604 until reaching the keypad 606. In this case, since the direct light 612 of the light-emitting elements 604 is concentrated and applied to the back surface of the keypad 606, there occurs inconvenience that the light looks like an eyeball (note: the expression like eyeball and eyeball-like (shape) hereinafter is used as a pattern of a concentric circle due to interfering light) through the keypad 606 and that a uniform light emission (illuminance) is not acquired. Such localized light is impossible to be avoided by a light-shielding member.
If the light-emitting elements 604 come closer to an inner surface of an apparatus housing, there also occurs inconvenience that the light of the light-emitting elements and the light-emitting positions thereof are visible through the housing. To hide such a localized light-emitting position, a light-shielding coating, etc. may be applied or a light-shielding member may be used, and a degree of freedom is reduced in a housing material and a housing structure.
If the direct light of the light-emitting elements is used, an apparatus including a plurality of key operating units may be disposed with the light-emitting elements for the respective key operating units and the number of the disposed light-emitting elements is inconveniently increased.
Such problems are not suggested or disclosed and means for solving them is not disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-174866.